Abstract
Social commerce sites continue to rise in popularity due in large part to their ability to integrate content creation and selling. Platforms like Whatnot provide new avenues for public relations scholarship to explore the communication strategies and techniques used by influencers to engage with users to cultivate community during product promotions. Through the qualitative analysis of 10 livestream auctions across five categories, this study adds to the literature the concept of the strategic communication performance of selling, e.g., the ways in which influencers engage in strategic communication to put on a performance of selling products. Counter to the traditional digital culture recommendations that tout authenticity, this study presents the idea of explicit performance of selling that occurs among influencers which seeks to leverage social capital through transparency/vulnerability, the use of established norms, and the increase of engagement through the dispersion of power among users.
TopLiterature Review
The following review of literature begins with an overview of the perspective of strategic communication, outlining two important concepts that assist in the creation of strategic communication: social capital and engagement. Next, we explore the current literature on social media influencers (SMIs) and livestreaming. We close the literature review with an overview of the development of S-commerce (e.g., social commerce) and an explanation of the Whatnot application (app).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Social Commerce: Combines the social interaction functions of traditional social media platforms with the convenience of the online retail experience, creating an immersive experience for consumers.
Social Capital: An intangible resource based on a societies’ social structures that lends power and legitimacy to an individual or organization based on access to resources (e.g., knowledge, expertise, relationships, and respect).
Whatnoters: Whatnoters is a term coined by the authors to define the community of buyers and influencers on the Whatnot platform. Any user of the Whatnot platform is considered a Whatnoter for research purposes.
Social Media Influencers (SMIs): Someone who has an online presence and is viewed as an authority on a specific topic, practice, or position.
Strategic Communication: Communicating with purpose.
Livestream(ing): Real-time video content with chat interaction.
Engagement: A way for both publics and organization to interact through the communication process to foster the creation of quality relationships.
Whatnot: A commerce app that combines live stream selling with the thrill of real-time bidding connecting buyers and influencers.